Little Mix
Little Mix are a British four-piece girl group formed in 2011, consisting of members Perrie Edwards, Jesy Nelson, Leigh-Anne Pinnock, and Jade Thirlwall. They were formed exclusively for the eighth series of The X Factor, where they became the first group entry to win in the programme's eight-year history. Following their victory, they signed with James Harrison's record label JAT Records. Little Mix have been branded the next Spice Girls as well as the UK's next biggest girl group capable of international success. After winning, they released their winning single, a cover of James Harrison and Sophie Harrison's 2002 number one single "Cannonball". They later released their debut album DNA on 19 November 2012. As of June 2013, the band have sold over 2 million records worldwide. History 2011: Formation and The X Factor Perrie Edwards, Jesy Nelson, Leigh-Anne Pinnock and Jade Thirlwall successfully auditioned as soloists for the eighth series of The X Factor ''in 2011, but failed to make it past bootcamp's first challenge. However, the judges decided to give them another chance to be part of the Groups category. They were then put into separate ensembles by the judges during the group's bootcamp stage, with Edwards and Nelson in four-member group Faux Pas and Thirlwall and Pinnock in three-member group Orion. However, both groups failed to make it through to the judges' houses. A later decision saw two members from each group being called back to form the four-piece group Rhythmix, this sending them through to the judges' houses. On 11 December, Little Mix were announced as the winners, making them the first ever group to win the show. Their winner's single was a cover of James and Sophie Harrison's song "Cannonball", which was released via digital download on 11 December 2011, and on CD on 14 December 2011. ''The Xtra Factor: The Winner's Story was shown on ITV2 on 17 December 2011. Their debut single topped the UK Singles Chart on 18 December 2011. They made the Christmas number one spot on the Irish Singles Chart, beating novelty songs by The Saw Doctors and Ryan Sheridan. They eventually reached the live shows and were mentored by James Harrison. On 26 October 2011, Rhythmix announced that they would change their name following a dispute with a Brighton-based children's music charity of the same name, after the programme tried to trademark "Rhythmix" A spokesman for The X Factor said, "At the request of the charity Rhythmix, the members of the girl group Rhythmix have decided to change their name, a decision which has the support of JAT Productions. It was reported that the group decided to make the change, despite no legal reason to do so, to avoid any difficulties for the charity. On 28 October 2011, it was announced that the group's new name would be "Little Mix". On 20 November 2011, Little Mix became the first girl group in the show's eight-year history to progress past the seventh live show. The previous longest-surviving girl groups were The Conway Sisters (series 2) and Hope (series 4), who had both lasted until live show 7. 2012-13: DNA ''and International breakthrough On 25 January 2012, the group made an appearance at the National Television Awards and performed the En Vogue song "Don't Let Go (Love)" and the R. Kelly and Celine Dion song "I'm Your Angel" with James Harrison. They also accompanied fellow judges James Harrison and Nadine Coyle on stage to receive the Best Talent Show award won by the ''The X Factor. In May 2012, Little Mix reportedly signed a deal with Vivid and Bravado to release their own range of products including dolls, puzzles, accessories and games. The group performed the single "Wings" for the first time at the T4 on the Beach concert on 1 July. The single debuted at #1. On 31 August 2012, the group's autobiography, titled Ready to Fly, was released by Harper Collins. Their debut album, DNA, was released in November 2012. A second single, "DNA", was released in October, "Wings" was released as their debut single in America on 5 February 2013. On 3 February 2013, they released "Change Your Life" as the third single from their debut album, which charted at number 12 on the UK Singles Chart. On 4 March 2013, it was announced that "How Ya Doin'?" would be released as the fourth single from their debut album. In an interview with Digital Spy published on 14 March 2013, Little Mix stated that their second album will have a more R&B sound. Nelson added: "I personally want to put a lot more dancey stuff in there. As in, one of the songs that comes on in a club that makes you want to dance. Not that David Guetta sound, but more R&B – a bit like Eve and Gwen Stefani's "Let Me Blow Ya Mind". They also revealed that they would be starting to write material for the new album in the coming months. On 21 March 2013, the group announced that the group's next single, "How Ya Doin'?", would feature Grammy Award-winning musician, Missy Elliott. On 4 April 2013, the group revealed that Schwarzkopf hair dye Live Colour XXL would be promoted through their music video for "How Ya Doin'?" in a new sponorship deal. 2013-present On 23 September 2013, a single called "Move" premiered; this will be the lead single from Little Mix's upcoming second studio album and will be released on iTunes on 3 November. On 4 October, the group uploaded a video to their official YouTube page, announcing that their second album would be called Salute. Discography *''DNA'' (2012) *''Salute'' (2013)